Schools and Pre-School

Welcome back to Seagry School

What a fantastic start it has been! It is so wonderful to welcome all our families back.

As a small school, we have exciting news to announce. We have a new assistant head, Miss Christina Brugger, who has come to us from Easton CE Academy, Bristol. We are very happy to welcome her to our school and hope she enjoys her new role in our school community.

We have also welcomed Miss Megan Young and Miss Lorna Clifford, who have joined us from Christian Malford School. Miss Young will be teaching key stage 2 and Miss Clifford will be working as a teaching assistant alongside her.

Seagry School is now offering outdoor learning to all pupils and they are loving the muddy, fun activities. We are also getting a brand new school entrance which will provide a new reception area and much needed learning areas. Watch this space for the big reveal!

To build our class communities, the children were asked to suggest woodland animals as class names. Each class then held a democratic vote to decide which animal would represent them. The children showed great enthusiasm in this task and we are very pleased to present our class emblems with mottos. Key stage 2 are known as Foxes, years 1-2 as Rabbits, reception as Squirrels and preschool as Hedgehogs. It was inspiring to see the children get so involved in the new class names and we look forward to seeing all the great things they will achieve over the school year.

News from Friends of Seagry School

It’s of course been a very strange time for everyone over the last few months and Friends of Seagry School (FoSS), the parent-organised fundraising committee supporting Seagry C of E Primary School and Pre-School, is delighted to see the children (and parents!) returning to our settings for the start of the new academic year.

We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome all the new faces – not only the new intake of children and their parents, but the new staff too. We look forward to getting to know you all in due course.

In the run up to the new term commencing we’re aware some people have been working hard to tidy and make our lovely settings even more enjoyable for us all. Thank you to Sally Vivash and her Dad, Richard – your hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed.

We usually enjoy our annual Conker Championship during autumn, however with coronavirus restrictions it’s sadly not something we’re able to host this year. Our fundraising activities will be somewhat different for the foreseeable future, but we’re still very committed in our efforts and we hope to at least be able to organise a Christmas raffle which will have some fantastic prizes!

Finally, we’d like to thank Helen Cooper and Iain McCall, both of whom have recently resigned from their roles on the FoSS committee, for being valued members of the team for so long. Thank you both.

We’re always looking for parents to support FoSS, so if you have a child at Seagry and think you can help – perhaps even be part of the committee –please let us know. Social distancing rules permitting, we usually meet once a term or so to plan our events! With best wishes, FoSS

Somerfords’ Walter Powell School News

It is wonderful to be have all children back in school and to hear the chitter chatter of voices and see smiley faces as we all adapt to the ‘new normal’ in our school.

We have started this school year with a ‘Recovery Curriculum’ which is focussing on the wellbeing of all our children, helping them settle back into the classrooms and the new school year.

This term the children in Key stage 2 are learning about ‘Traders and Raiders’. They have started a new topic by taking part in some historical role play on the playground. The purpose of this was to understand what it was like to be a Saxon raider. In crews, they sailed from Denmark to England, having prepared their boat with the necessary objects and items for a successful sail. After lots of heave-hoing, they reached Brancaster Beach and found hoards of metal, jewellery, weapons and grain to take back to their homeland.

This enriching experience was a springboard for our learning in class.

The Reception children are starting to learn their sounds and numbers and have made the most of the autumn weather playing outside with the sand and water.

The topic work for children in Key stage 1 is based on ‘Ourselves’. They have been learning more about each other and their families. As part of their homework they have been discovering more about the toys that their parents and grandparents would have enjoyed during their childhoods and compared these to the toys played with today.

Outdoor Learning

We are delighted that all our children will now enjoy an outdoor learning lesson each week with Miss Wilcox.

This week they have been playing colour bingo (observing the outdoor colours around them) and also painted some rocks. The children enjoyed discussing future lessons where they will work as a team to develop an area in the school grounds for a permanent outdoor learning area. Together they will work over the coming weeks to plan, create and use this area.

Walter Powell Pre-school

We are all enjoying being back at Pre-school and look forward to our visits to the allotment where we can harvest our runner beans and prepare the plot for planting our onions.

During one of our visits the children discovered a fabulous hideaway under the canopy of a tree which was just like a den! Hiding and peeping at Joy and Michelle was brilliant!

Our outdoor learning day is every Wednesday, where we learn more about the seasons, nature and the outdoor environment. This is a popular day and we all have great fun.

Our Pre-school is now open 08.45 – 15.00 Monday to Friday. We accept children from the age of 2 years. If you are interested, please contact the Pre-school on 07931 263909 or alternatively contact the school office on 01249 720797 or admin.swp@dbat.org.uk for more information and an application form.